Increasing Frequency
by mrs.sunkissed13
Summary: Their relationship had changed. It wasn't his fault he didn't remember what happened! And Maka wasn't being helpful about it either. All he wanted was for things to go back the way they were before graduation. Everything seemed to go to hell at the worst possible times... why couldn't he catch a break?


**Hello all! Introducing my story, please leave a comment!**

**Hoping to publish once a month.**

**Thank you!**

A searing headache.

That's the first thing Soul felt as he attempted to lift his head. Pain immediately started radiating from the back of his skull had quickly progressed to his forehead. It lingered and pricked around his eyes, making them hurt like hell and impossible to open. The blood pumping in his head was defining and made him feel nauseated. His head was heavy, like lead was poured into it while he was unconscious. He tried ignoring it, but the pain was taxing heavily on his focus. It took everything out of him just to build a mental wall and push it away, and force himself to pull his thoughts together.

It was a strenuous process, his scenes seemed to be dulled and he was having a difficult time processing the information his body was receiving. Soul furrowed his brow and grunted, knowing he had to get up and going, but wasn't really sure how to accomplish doing so. Something was telling him deep in his gut that something wasn't right.

Soul wouldn't consider himself a motivated person by nature. Moving seemed to be going against everything he stood for, all he wanted to do was let himself lie there until the pain passed. But there was that nagging again. He secretly pleaded to a higher power to let him ignore his gut and to leave him to his much needed rest, at least until his headache went away. He was fully content to lie here forever.

It seemed like life was once again laughing at his expense.

Much to his dismay, the pain was gravitating it's way down his neck, and getting worse with every moment he tried to push it to the back of his mind. It felt different than normal his normal headaches. This one was more like that time when Black*Star knocked him clean out during basketball his freshman year, the first time he ever got a...

Oh…

It dawned on him, this was probably a concussion…. great…

He had no choice but to wake up and move now. He groaned internally. Falling asleep with a concussion was dangerous, or at least he was told that it was. His smart-alec meister was probably to blame for that. Soul made a pained groan thinking about her and a mental picture of her there giving him crap about this being _his _fault because he was being too lazy suddenly pissed him off just enough to find the motivation to summon all his will power. He forced himself to focus. Using the senses at his disposal, he was able to make some basic assessments about his current situation. For one; he was most definitely on his stomach, face down… in dirt.

Perfect.

Strained growls emerged from deep in his throat as he tried to move his hands to get his bearings, when he realized one of his arms was trapped underneath him. At least it hadn't fallen asleep (thank Death,) and he was able to successfully move it. Soul shuffled uncomfortably, releasing his arm from being buried under his torso, and prepared himself mentally for the agony of raising himself from the ground.

White hot daggers.

That's how he would describe the feeling going on behind his eyes right now. Pain filled groans escaped him as he slowly pushed off the ground onto his knees. Once situated he blinked away the water stinging the corners of his eyes and had a glimpse around him for the first time.

It was dark, but it was also possible that he was blind from the pain. His eyes were taking their sweet time trying to focus. It wasn't until he looked around and found light emerging somewhere from the right, that he deduced that he must be in a tunnel of some sort. He desperately reached out in search for the wall and found it directly behind him. Using it as an anchor, Soul lifted himself to his feet and,

Threw up everywhere.

So un-cool.

Nausea had hit him hard during the vertical movement of standing up and immediately made his knees start to buckle.

"Oh no you don't" he grumbled to himself, spitting bile out of his mouth. Soul gripped tighter to the rock wall (a cave… he guessed,) and forced his feet to move forward toward the light. Dazed and nauseated, he made his way along the wall.

Smells of damp earth, rotting leaves and pine come rushing into his senses.

Smell, great to have you back old friend. If only vision would hurry up and start working better. Soul kept blinking trying to get his eyes to focus more in the changing light.

The pain on the back of his head was still demanding and reminding him of how quickly he needed to find himself some help. The warm liquid falling down his neck and shoulders only confirming his suspicions. Soul braced himself against the wall and slowly reached behind him to feel the back of his head. Blinding pain roared through his skull as soon as he made contact with the wound. His hand retracted reflexively, and nausea won again in the battle of keeping the contents of his stomach inside of his body.

Death, he was glad Maka wasn't here to see this…

Maka...

"Shit…Fuhgggk." He managed to gargle out.

Cold sweat crept up his body, and a pit formed in the pit of his stomach.

Where was Maka?

Panic and worry started to creep into his chest, and his will power to keep moving was quickly being lost.

"Mmka." He choked out, between heavy breaths.

His eyes were finally adjusting to the light in the dark cave, and was able to take a good look around him. Bracing himself, he looked back towards the interior of the cave, looking for any sign of his meister. He may not have had the best vision at the moment, but the cave was small enough for him to confirm that there was no sign of her. How could he lose her!? That was weapon partner 101, you never leave your misters side. So how could they have ended up separated?

"Damn it all to hell..." he rasped wiping the sweat from his face with the back of a shaky hand.

Where was she?

"Maka!" he managed to shout, desperation clear in his voice.

Soul started to feel very anxious without her there. Not only was he crazy worried about her well being, considering his own sate, but if it came down to a battle he was essentially useless by himself. All he was really capable of doing was maybe fending off your average criminal or scaring away a few punk kids.

He suddenly found himself regretting not taking Black*Star up on his free martial arts lessons.

Soul groaned and hoisted himself back on his feet, which were steadily getting more and more accustomed to having to support his weight. The bleeding on the back of his head was still there, but not bad considering it was a head wound. He kept moving forward, hoping she was close by.

Soul reached out with his wavelength, trying frantically to find her. If she was close by, he'd be able to sense her.

Where was she? He would never forgive himself if she was hurt… or worse yet…

Soul clenched his eyes shut, shuddering at the thought. Soul dropped the train of thought, Thinking like that wasn't going to help her or him right now. He started trying to think back, retracing his steps and events while refocusing his wavelength projection.

He was having a hard time remembering what they were doing that would land him in this current situation... Probably a lovely side effect of the giant gash on the back of his head.

Slowly, he exited the cave and found himself surrounded by pine trees. What was he doing in the middle of a forest? Soul hated the outdoors in general and the few times he and Maka had to camp on one of their missions was in his own words,

The fucking worst.

Soul propped himself against the entrance of the cave and continued to reach out for Maka. It was difficult work. His head made it hard to focus on his wavelength. His blood was also starting to mix with sweat down his face, and the sensation was putting him on edge.

He needed Maka, needed to know she was safe.

If she were here she'd know exactly what to do, where to go and set up a plan! She was the rock in their relationship. Without her he wasn't capable of keeping his cool, let alone take care of himself. They were partners, roommates... friends. They always had each others back on missions and Soul was determined to find her.

Souls sighed and adjusted his weight to keep moving. Maka wasn't here, so his best option was to re-group and touch base with the DWMA. Hopefully she had done the same and was already on her way back home….. but when was luck ever on his side?

The pit re-formed in the bottom of his stomach,

"Please be ok…" he grunted between clenched teeth.

Walking was hell. Everything hurt with every movement he made, and he was quickly finding out just how bad of shape he was really in. He was positive he had some broken ribs and probably a twisted, (maybe fractured) ankle. He needed to get somewhere populated before it got dark, preferably somewhere with a mirror.

His head swarmed with the movement of walking, but he was able to finally sort himself out enough that memories of what happened earlier were slowly coming back to him.

They had been on a mission.

Some sort of weird ghost mission if he remembered right…. The memories were slipping past him and fleeting. Like trying to hold water in your hands while it slipped through your fingers.

It was a ghost mission, somewhere in eastern Washington. Hauntings weren't normally what the DWMA dealt with, but for some reason Kid was really anxious about it before giving them the assignment. He insisted that Soul and Maka handle it as quickly as possible, and report back any unusual occurrences or encounters. Kid assigned a Death Scythe for this specific mission, and needed to investigate with a meister partner. Since Stein was somewhere in South Africa with Marie on a separate mission, that left him and Maka to take a look.

Which was kind of a sore spot for Soul at the moment.

Soul and Maka hadn't been on a mission together since the defeat of the Asura. Partially because there just weren't as much of a need now that the Kishin was defeated, but also because after graduation… Maka became a teacher. She took over for Sid after he transferred to Australia to cover for Marie. She was crazy busy all the time. She had to get up at the ass crack of dawn and prepare for classes. And when she was home all she did was grade papers, Soul couldn't remember the last time they had dinner together in their apartment.

The only time he'd seen her recently was in the Death Room, when he was called to her classroom to give demonstrations or when they walked home together.

Soul was busy as well.

He had finally achieved his dream of becoming Death Scythe. And as such had many responsibilities, not only to Lord Death, but to Kid and the DWMA. He ran paperwork and went out on patrol mostly. Being a Death Scythe wasn't as glamorous as Soul had originally thought it would be. He was still the youngest and most green of the group and as such, he had a learning period in which he wasn't really allowed to do anything on his own. He spent a lot of time assisting Justin, Death Scythe, or Marie. It wasn't a hard job, just time consuming. Even so, he still really liked being a Death Scythe. He was able to hang out with Kid and Black*Star…. If only Maka's schedule wasn't so full. Other than that, he definitely had everything he'd ever wanted….. right?

Soul furrowed his brow, this never would have happened if he an Maka were practicing regularly like they used to. Soul silently cursed himself and this damn mission. He was a Death Scythe! He should have been able to handle this just fine, even if he was still new to the job.

Soul took a deep breath and closed his eyes, effectively slowing down his heart rate so he could think clearly. He couldn't remember anything else. Nothing about how he got here, or how he ended up alone in a cave bleeding. He couldn't even remember leaving Death City. Soul looked around for any trace of having got there, footprints, blood trail, anything that could lead him back to where he came from.

Nothing…..

Just his luck.

This was bad, and he was seriously starting to become worried about Maka. And just because they didn't see each other as much anymore, didn't mean he felt differently about her. He still kept a close eye on her. Waiting patiently on the steps of the Academy to walk her home, making dinner and leaving her a portion in the microwave.

Was he obsessive? Not at all. He was just very….. hands on. Okay, maybe he was a little overprotective but most weapon/meister teams are! It's not like he _forbade_ Maka from going on dates or missions. The guys that tried to ask her out just suddenly… stopped coming around, and missions weren't really a problem lately, and if they were ever called out together, he could keep an eye on her and make sure she was protected.

Or at least she was supposed to be protected.

Man he really screwed this one up royally.

All of the training he's received in the past for this exact situation told him to keep calm and get himself somewhere safe so that he could re-group and look for her with back up. But he couldn't help it, he felt his baser instincts searching for her, and the all too familiar presence being absent just didn't feel right.

Soul slowly lifted his head and inhaled deeply. The scent of the forest was all around him, but there was something else as well.

Rubber… Asphalt, a road.

Thank Almighty Death.

Soul took a moment to summon all of his strength and started walking to where his nose was leading him. The road couldn't be all that far away if he could smell it from where he was standing, at least he hoped. He wasn't really all that sure how long he would last before passing out. He needed to get there… and fast.

Every step was excruciating and make his eyes water. Just as well, at least the tears kept the blood out of his eyes. The hard part was the dizziness, It took even longer to move forward having to double check your footing because you couldn't see straight.

After a few minutes he could make out the structure of a mountain road, and finally stepped onto the warm asphalt.

Now what?

Soul painfully looked around for a mile marker or a road sign of some sort, telling him how far he'd have to walk to get somewhere with a mirror or hospital… he wasn't really picky at this point. He just needed to check in to know if Maka was ok and if she had checked in with the DWMA. Soul had never been this determined to call the death room. Usually the thought of calling that over-sized sadist of a Death God made him want to punch the wall. It wasn't Lord Death's fault… Soul just couldn't take him seriously and found him extremely annoying, especially since a call to him usually meant a lecture from Death Scythe.

Shit…

What was he going to tell Spirit?

Soul didn't have the chance to finish his thought because a patrol car suddenly rounded the curve on the mountain road.

The old `97 black and white Chevy Impala pulled up to him and flashed it's lights. Soul shielded his eyes and prayed that the officer would be kind enough to not turn on the siren. He couldn't really handle the noise right now. Although, beggars can't be choosers and he was really just grateful that someone showed up at all. The car stopped and he could read the wording detailing the side of the vehicle.

'Protect and Serve, Whitman County Sheriff'

The Sheriff rolled down the tinted window of her old Chevy and pulled off her sunglasses, glancing him over.

Looking at the vehicle up close he noticed that it was barely holding itself together. The means in which the car was being repaired definitely wasn't police-sanctioned. Duct tape kept the side mirrors in place, and it looked like bailing twine was threaded through the grill and around the bumper to keep it in place. Soul tried not to stare but couldn't help but wonder _why_ this thing hadn't been decommissioned 15 years ago…

Soul took the edge of his sleeve and tried to wipe the blood and sweat off his face as well as he could manage.

This wasn't one of his better first impressions.

"Hey Kid, what the hell happened to you?" She asked in a low alto voice, It was kind but firm.

Soul looked her over, she was probably in her late thirties or early forties. She had dark skin and brown eyes. Her curly black hair was pulled neatly in a smart looking messy bun with wisps that fell out and framed her face nicely. She smelled like coconut and cinnamon and had a look of concern mixed with apprehension on her face.

"You're not being hazed or anything right? The fraternities around here don't normally get this bad…"

Soul waved his hand dismissively and addressed the Sheriff.

"No, no. Nothing like that, I'm not from around here…. I'm actually trying to get home. I woke up out here alone and I'm looking for one of my friends who was supposed to be with me. Would it be too much to give me a ride to the nearest phone or bathroom? I can try to get in contact with her once I'm able to call her." He wasn't sure if she could understand him, his voice came out gravely and barely audible. He gave his best smile he could muster and hoped she wouldn't be put off by his teeth.

The officer gave him a thorough glance over and frowned slightly.

Soul was sure he looked like shit warmed over. A bloody college-aged student walking out of nowhere covered with injuries all over his body. He sure as hell looked suspicious.

"Name?"

"Soul Eater." he said without hesitation.

The officer pursed her lips in disbelief, and took a solid minute before responding.

"If you're going to lie to me, you'd better pick a better name than that."

Soul reached into his shirt collar and pulled out the chain that hung around his neck. Dog tags. Maka had given them to him for graduation, saying his new status as a Death Scythe could take him anywhere and she wanted to be sure that wherever he went, he'd always come home. The engraving on them simply read,

'_This Albino idiot is Soul Eater, my Demon Weapon partner. If found please return to Maka Albarn. Death City Nevada, USA. 42,42,564.'_

Soul smiled to himself as he stumbled over to the officers window and raised the tag to her face. At a closer proximity he could read her name on her uniform.

"Murtaugh… Sheriff Murtaugh."

"Mmmm?"

"I know how this looks… but please, I could _really_ use a ride. My partner is out there somewhere and I need to find her…"

Officer Murtaugh looked over to him after carefully reading the dog tags in front of her face.

"This partner of yours, Maka Albarn? She's missing?"

Soul swallowed, tasting bile and blood slide down his throat as he slowly nodded.

"I'm hoping she was able to regroup with our friends and I can contact..."

Officer Murtaugh cut him off.

"Look kid, I don't need an explanation right now. Just get in the squad car and let's get you to a hospital. They'll be plenty of time for questions after we get your injuries looked at."

She flipped the lock button on her door, unlocking the squad car back seats.

"Get in the back." It wasn't a question.

Soul looked at her with a weary smile while opening the back door.

"I really appreciate it, thank you."

"Try not to bleed all over my back seat… blood doesn't do well with the upholstery."

Soul gently lowered himself into the back seat, wincing slightly at the movement from his cracked ribs and a sprained ankle. He clicked the door shut and they were off.

"I'll do my best, but no promises..."

Soul closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the window, leaning back against the seat. Not moving once situated was key to keeping his pain moderated. After a few minutes of being on the road, Soul heard something calling for his attention.

"Jenny."

"Mmmm?" Soul answered cracking open an eyelid to look at the front seat.

She adjusted her rear-view mirror so that she could look Soul in the eyes.

"My name is Jenny."

Soul let out a small chuckle.

"Officer Jenny Murtaugh…. and you thought my name was stupid…"

A delicate laugh emerged from the front seat as a lunch bag flew into his lap.

"There's pain meds in the side zipper and a water bottle inside. You can also take the Ice cooler in there and press it against your head. I think it's too late to stop the swelling but it might take the edge off of the headache."

Soul grunted his appreciation and made quick use of the water and pills.

Sitting in the back seat was warm and comfortable and exhaustion was beginning to over-take him. The back seat smelled of coconut and cinnamon just like her, probably her lotion? It was comforting and made him feel like he was back at his apartment in Death City.

It was still dangerous to fall asleep though, he needed to find the willpower to stay awake.

Soul scrunched his eyes and tried to make them open. Somewhere over the noise of the road he could vaguely make out the sound of Jenny stalking over her radio. He tried shifting his attention on her conversation.

"Five-eleven, one hundred sixty pounds. Albino, yes you heard me right. Guh, NO! I'm not _looking _for him, I'm bringing him into the ER! What I _need _is for someone to look for his partner. Yes…. yes that right. Between mile marker 67…and…. Not sure. Hopefully we'll get better information out of him after he's has some rest…..No, no I'm not sure, but I'd rather not take any chances….. better safe than sorry…... Right, affirmative… ten minutes… out…prepare…..going to have to… Soul…..She looks like… soul…..you're….. Maka…..

Soul couldn't force it anymore. His arms were heavy and his eyes wouldn't open. His whole body protested against being awake. The soft feel of the upholstery was like a blanket cradling his broken body. Sleep crept into him like an inevitability. Some last thoughts slipped into his mind as his head bobbed gently against the back window.

Maka, wait for me. I'm coming to get you. I'll be there soon.

And then everything went black.


End file.
